Zaheer Khan identifies India's batting concerns despite big knocks from Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill

Former Indian fast bowler Zaheer Khan has drawn attention to the vulnerabilities in India's batting lineup during the ongoing series against England, emphasizing that one shouldn't overlook the frailties despite the exceptional performances from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill in the second Test.

According to Zaheer, India's batsmen failed to deliver collectively in the second Test, relying heavily on Jaiswal's magnificent 209 in the first innings and Gill's resilient 104-run innings in the second, along with Jasprit Bumrah's outstanding bowling display, to clinch a crucial 106-run win and level the series.

"Batting is an area of concern that needs to be addressed because, given the conditions and the pitch, India has performed better in the past," Zaheer remarked on JioCinema.

Despite setting England a challenging target of 399 runs, only Zak Crawley managed to surpass the half-century mark in their second innings, yet the visitors nearly reached the 300-run mark.

"Looking at England's second innings, there was only one half-century scored, but they still managed to accumulate close to 300 runs. This highlights the importance of collective effort. While we witnessed two outstanding innings from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, there is significant room for improvement with the bat," Zaheer emphasized.

India's situation seemed dire after suffering a shocking 28-run defeat in the series opener, compounded by the absence of key players like Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, and Mohammed Shami due to injury during the Vizag Test.

"When you're trailing in a series, you need aggression, resilience, and belief to ensure a comeback and level the series. Rohit Sharma's leadership was instrumental in inspiring such individual performances from the players," Zaheer noted.

The upcoming third Test of the five-match series, an integral part of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, is scheduled to commence on February 15 in Rajkot.

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